A Simple Idea to Empower Kids

Young ones will need a bit of hand-holding for this simplified explanation of the New Thought movement’s law of attraction.
Boucher nobly attempts to make a rather complicated idea accessible by breaking down the law of attraction into three steps: “[S]ee in your head what you want. Believe you already have it. Make believe! When you wake up say ‘Thank you, thank you, thank you!’ ” That sounds simple enough for adults to do, but this process is much more difficult for children to comprehend—especially for those in the age group that will be drawn to Boucher’s watercolor illustrations of multicultural kids. Though the main concept presents a challenge, the book expresses other lovely, self-affirming thoughts: the beauty of being unique, believing in yourself, disregarding hurtful words and dreaming big. Again, these are major ideas that children might not be able to navigate on their own. However, this title would be an interesting starting point for a group or one-on-one discussion, since the text highlights the main ideas, and an adult would be able to fill in the blanks. For example: “Thoughts have power. They become things.” Though adults know what Boucher is trying to suggest, this wording will likely be confusing—and possibly frightening—for a group of little ones who are used to “power” being in the hands of Disney villains or Marvel superheroes. How do thoughts become “things” exactly? That’s a question an adult reader must help the child answer. At the conclusion of the book, Boucher leaves kids with several tasks, several of which are self-explanatory, such as “Laugh out loud! Tell your best friend.” But she also urges readers to “Send this happiness around the World three times.” How can kids (or adults, for that matter) even begin to do that? Perhaps including a parent/educator note to guide adults in sharing this message with children would help clarify these issues, or maybe the message could be embedded in a fictional story rather than pedagogical text.
Though this colorful picture book has a lot of heart, busy adults may prefer to share a clearer, more straightforward message.